American Katie Volynets dug deep in front of a friendly crowd on Wednesday, earning a 7-5, 7-5 win over Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
Volynets, a native of Walnut Creek, Calif., was broken twice in the first set but responded by immediately breaking Andreeva on both occasions. She then faced an early 3-1 deficit in the second set before going on to win the final four games en route to the sweep.
“I was honestly so zoned in that I didn’t comprehend that I was facing set points against me,” Volynets said. “I found that even when I was down a break, I had good ideas. I just wasn’t executing.”
It took 2 hours, 7 minutes for Volynets to oust Andreeva, who went 0-for-6 when it came to saving break points.
Andreeva’s sister, Erika, was also in action on Wednesday. Her match against the United States’ Danielle Collins was suspended due to weather.
German Angelique Kerber showed a different form of resiliency in the first round to knock off Petra Martic of Croatia 6-3, 6-4. Kerber had been in a rut since returning from maternity leave in January, dropping six of her first seven matches back.
Following the victory, Kerber had a message for her daughter.
“It’s crazy how fast one year went,” Kerber said. “The message for her would be just follow your heart, enjoy what you love and dream big.”
Another German, Tatjana Maria, toppled the Netherlands’ Arantxa Rus 7-6 (5), 6-2. However, Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan got the best of Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch, 6-2, 6-3.
Other winners Wednesday included American Bernarda Pera, Camila Giorgi of Italy, Japan’s Mai Hontama, Czech Marie Bouzkova and Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia. Giorgi downed Great Britain’s Katie Boulter, who just won a title in San Diego.
Seven more matches were scheduled for later Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
